Uganda: Dancing Africans

At least 40 African countries have been invited to take part in the 8th edition of the Pan-African Dance Festival in Rwanda.

Burundi, Tanzania, Madagascar, Niger and Liberia have already confirmed their participation according to Rwanda Development Board (RDB) which is organizing the event.

Fespad is a cultural event that has been happening in Rwanda for more than a decade. It is scheduled to take place from Feb. 23 through March 2 under the theme "The Spirit of Expression."

"Fespad is in line with Rwanda's strategy of showcasing our unique cultural heritage to the entire world through dance," said Rica Rwigamba, RDB's head of Tourism and Conservation.

Fespad will consist of several dance-related activities including national dance competitions in all provinces of Rwanda, dance workshops - a great opportunity to showcase what the local dance clubs such as traditional troupes and Salsa clubs are doing, and concerts featuring international, regional and local artists.

Special in this edition of the Fespad is the Pan-African Dance Competition which will involve participating countries to compete for the African Dance Title. Rwigamba added that the continental dance competition will focus on traditional dances.

The festival was bestowed on Rwanda on the occasion of the 67th meeting of the African Union's Council of Ministers in February 1998 with the aim of cultural promotion through dance.

AllAfrica publishes around 2,000 reports a day from more than 130 news organizations and over 200 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Related

Follow AllAfrica

AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa - aggregating, producing and distributing 2000 news and information items daily from over 130 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Lagos, Monrovia, Nairobi and Washington DC.